


Not the place to stay anymore

by RoyalMileven



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 21:10:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16772983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoyalMileven/pseuds/RoyalMileven
Summary: One-shot of superheroes AU nobody asked for.





	Not the place to stay anymore

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I don't know why exactly I wrote this. There are confusing things maybe, but yeah, read ahead.

As the end of the last battle of superheroes and villains came, the superheroes gathered around in the ruins of what had been a square once. Hawkins City had the worst nightmare behind them. Everybody's hope was for the superheroes - a team of brave people with extraordinary powers, fighting for good in this world.

However, when Jean appeared in front of them, her hand grasping the collar of Zoomer's suit, people stopped hoping. The evil was slowly winning.

Jean smiled devilishly straight into Paladin's eyes, challenging him to do something. Challenging him to fight her, to kill her. But he couldn't, he couldn't kill her. He might be strong, but not strong enough for that. Maybe she had forgotten, maybe she just didn't want to remember, but he knew her mind and her body, he knew her weaknesses and he knew her. Not Jean, not the villain standing in front of him. He knew Jane Ives, that Jane who he still loved, no matter what. And he knew she was still in there. The woman he loved would fight.

* * *

_**Fourteen months ago** _

_Waking up with her, that was all he wished in years. She was so beautiful he couldn't express it with words. Mike stopped breathing for a second. Her brown eyes, filled with goldish shade around her pupils, lazily found their way into his own eyes. The corners of Jane's mouth lifted up and her face was brightened by a big smile. Her fingertips ran over his bare chest, tracing tiny little circles on it._

_Jane moved her own naked body closer to him, resting her chin on his shoulder. He looked at her. A feeling of happiness overflowed him. Mike brushed her curly dark hair off her face, putting great emphasis to be gentle. His fingers were a little rough. The hair on her back rose up when she felt the miniature of his powers go through her._

_They couldn't get enough of this._

_She traced tender kisses down his jaw, admiring his freckles from the proximity, making him groan in pleasure loudly. He could sense her smile. Jane tugged his hair. She fisted his hair, pulling him closer to her._

_There were eight billion people in the world and she was the only one who knew his soft spots. She was the only one who really knew him. And for the love of god, she was his life. He was nothing without her. It was Jane who defined him, it's always her._

_Mike wrapped his arms around her body. She straddled his lap and he sat up, both of them were staring into each other's eyes intensively. Their chapped lips met in a passionate kiss as they both were filled with an unexplainable ardor for each other. Jane pressed her chest against his, embracing her arms around his neck. His hands roamed on her feminine curves slowly, then up her spine. He had this little sparkles on the end of his fingers. They tickled her and she chuckled into their kiss._

_She bit his lower lip, teasing him deliberately. And he let her, he'd always let her._

_They spent seconds, minutes, hours like this. Entangled in their two bodies, drinking their intoxicating love. It still wasn't enough. It'll never be enough._

* * *

"Don't do this." 

He felt so weak and so helpless against her. Jean's eyes were filled with black color, just like it was a black hole. He missed her amber eyes, he missed her everything. Her cruel laugh echoed through the empty square. She dropped the speedster girl on the ground harshly. The proof that she's been still alive was that she whined in pain. There was blood running down her face. Jean stepped on Zoomer's stomach and she whimpered again, helplessly trying to reach for Jean's leg.

The shadow mask around the eyes of Jean was changing in a matter of few seconds, the smoke changing its place all around her face. Her teeth were white, which made it so terrifying detail. "You think you can stop me, _Paladin_?" she asked him, making an eye contact with him.

Paladin growled. He'd go closer if there hadn't been a shield between them. "I will stop you," he said.

There were tears in his eyes. People loved him for that, that he showed emotions. But it didn't seem like that for Jean. The cold, heartless and evil version of _his_ Jane thought it was only a weak sign of him being a loser. The speedster under her foot groaned. "No, please."

They all turned their eyes at her. Jean cocked her brow, a wide grin appearing on her mouth. She kneeled down, grabbing Zoomer by her red hair. It made her head tilt back and she could only see her best friends staring from afar. "Did you say _please_? Don't you remember what I taught you once, Zoomer?" 

* * *

_**Six years ago** _

_With a loud chatter, the two girls escaped the class and a horrifying lesson of history with Mr. Crowell._

_Max led Jane through the hallways until they were finally out of the school. The group of their friends was already waiting for them by the bike racks, ready to get into the city. Living in suburban parts of Hawkins City sucked, they lived far away from the center. The center was much, much better._

_Skipping school to hang out in the center of the town was great. Well, the only threat was that a superhero catches them and throws them back to the school for a detention._

_The redhead girl noticed that there was something on Jane's mind. She grabbed her hand, slowly leading her away from the Scoops Ahoy where the boys were waiting. They were at the main square. There was a statue of two biggest superheroes of the entire time: Titan and Laeti. The girls sat down on the stairs and they had the best view on the square._

_"El? Are you okay?"_

_"Yeah. Totally," she mumbled, rubbing her wrist._

_Max rolled her eyes. "Friends don't lie. You can tell me, I swear to god. I'm not gonna say anything. Please."_

_The fact that Max was begging, it made her even more uncomfortable. "Don't beg. It makes me feel awful and you weak," she said, maybe a little bit harsher than she intended to. But then, she sighed. "I... I found out who my real father is."_

_The redhead blinked. It took her a couple seconds to really eat that information. And to the irony, as fast as she was, the realization was slow. El shivered, her eyes slowly traveling towards Titan. He and Laeti have always been her big role model. Being two superheroes that saved the world, all the kids dreamed of becoming them. "Who?" Max asked curiously._

_El nodded at the statue. Max gasped for a breath. "No fucking way!" she shrieked at her in disbelief. It got them more attention than they wanted, but the tourist quickly let them be. Biting her lip, she nodded again. "Lower your voice."_

_"There is no fucking way that Titan, - he -, is your father! Are you sure?!" she whisper-yelled._

_"Yeah. I cannot believe it either."_

_They stayed quiet. Max looked at El, squeezing her hands. "So your dad is a hero. Maybe you have his powers!"_

_"I suppose he is. Not like my mom is a superhero. All she can do is share memories. But being Titan's daughter, that's impossible, I'm not made of titanium. Nobody knows his real name, plus, he's happily married to Laeti and they probably have more amazing children."_

_"Oh, Janie," she sighed, quickly pulling her into a hug._

_And from that moment, only Jane, Terry and Max knew about her real father._

* * *

"You are weak," she growled into Zoomer's ear, her teeth gritted.

Ranger nervously bit his lip. He was worried about his girlfriend, he was worried about his best friend who's been possessed by evil. He was worried about Paladin who's been a mess the last two months. Nobody actually knew what was Jean capable of. She destroyed the whole city in a matter of seconds.

"You are all foolish. Playing heroes."

This time, it was Bard who spoke up. "Jean, this isn't you. Stop this, you're not gonna just hurt us, but yourself, too."

Mike swallowed hard. "No. El, I love you. Don't do this."

For a second, for an unnoticeable second for anybody other than Mike, she froze. He could see the hesitation in her eyes, he could see her slightly open her mouth.

"Do you remember our promise? I'll give you my soul for your body. You give me your soul for my body. In bad and in good, we always protect each other. There's nothing stronger than our bond, there's nothing strong enough to-"

_Break it._

It echoed through her head as she started to feel something. She could hear Brenner yelling at her, but she fought with him. Mike's voice drew her closer to consciousness. It was like the light at the end of a tunnel. Jean resisted, but Jane's soul was slowly coming back by his voice. His words were soft, his eyes were filled with tears. Without realizing, her own eyes slowly filled with water too, making her dark makeup flow down her face and the shadow slowly disappear.

The grip on Max's hair was slowly fading and when the speedster fell on the ground, she gasped for a breath one more time. Paladin and Jean were staring at each other again, their emotions written over their faces. She could see the love he felt for her. Her heart clenched.

Jean looked around the destroyed city. One of the tallest skyscrapers in the city now laid literally down by her feet. No people around, some of the dead bodies were still buried in its ruins. All that ran in her mind was _what has she done_ _?_

The world turned into slow motion. Mike suddenly started screaming and running towards her, but she was too slow to realize what was going on. She stared at him when he crashed into the magnetic field around her. Jean didn't see the dart flying its way towards her. It sunk into her skin perfectly, hitting exactly the jugular vein of her neck.

Paladin watched it in horror.

Without realizing who had done that, Jean fell on the ground next to Max, lifeless.

* * *

Jim found Mike sitting by the bed all day. And then the next day. And the third day. He stared at the girl, intensively, begging her to wake up. Jane just laid there, her eyes clothes. He worried sometimes she'd stop breathing.

"You should go home and sleep, kid." he rubbed his shoulder. Paladin felt a weave of never-ending hate towards Hopper.

Mike shook his head. His home was El. They had an apartment in Hawkins City, that was their home. But he hasn't been there for over two months, waiting for El to return. If he laid in the bed which they shared once, he'd get depressed again.

"Did you know she's your daughter before?" he asked Hopper, his sight not leaving Jane's face. The blood in his veins was boiling dangerously.

He sighed and grabbed the armchair, dragging it towards the bed. He was only looking at El, too. "No, kid. I didn't."

"How? We've been here for a long time! You are just stupid!"

"I just... didn't. And I'm regretting it."

"You should. You shot the dart. She died two times in a row, Hopper! You killed your own daughter!" Mike yelled at him. He was angry easily. Jim could see the electricity sparks in Mike's eyes and it wasn't a good sign. All that Paladin wanted to do was strike a lighting in him and kill him the same way like Titan killed Jean. "It's all your fault! We'll go fight against Brenner and what happens?! She ends up like this! You caused this! You are not as heroic as you think!"

The blue-white electric sparks appeared around his fingers, they quickly wrapped around his fist. Hopper realized it. That kid is a fucking genius even when he didn't know it yet. "You're right."

"You can bet I am! I knew her before you, I know everything about her! She's dying, Hopper! Don't you see that?" their eyes drifted on the screen above her head. "I-I wanted to propose," Mike whispered. Jim's heart broke in pieces.

The fact he wanted to propose, it didn't surprise Hopper at all. He could see how much they love each other before, before he knew he was her father. Jane Ives and Mike Wheeler were in a deep shit for each other. That shit was called love.

"Mike," Hopper said. "Your hands."

"What?!" he snapped. "It's a fucking electricity if you haven't realized it yet!"

Maybe yelling at his girlfriend's father

"That's it! Electroshocks! You can wake her up."

It was a false hope.

His eyes flew towards the love of his life. And he was pretty much insecure. He hasn't done this yet. It's either she dies because of him, or she dies because he wouldn't have done anything. Mike swallowed hard and Hopper gave him a nod of his head. But if he won't do anything, that would eat him alive in years. The electricity flooded through his blood. He could feel everything around him which had electrical current.

The screens in El's room turned black.

He slowly put his hands on her chest, exactly where her heart was. It was an intimate place for her and Mike knew it very well. In front of Hopper, - hell, her actual father -, he felt like it wasn't appropriate. However - fuck him. He might be Titan, he might be only Jim, he might be El's biological father, but it was still Mike who was her closest person.

_You can do it, Mike._

The voice of his head got louder. It echoed through his mind. Although he didn't want to admit it, he imagined the voice as El. It drew him closer to her. Mike led the electricity through her veins into her heart. Her heart was slowly stopping beating which made him even more worried. He spurred it gently, the invisible strings of his powers wrapping around her heart and forcing it to beat again.

Hopper watched him closely. Mike was completely taken into his task. The door of the hospital room opened. Joyce took a few steps, careful to not interrupt him. "Hey," she whispered, smiling weakly at her husband.

It was ridiculous, this situation. The mighty Titan and Laeti, heroes of their age, the world savers. Now they were none of that. They had no use for their powers, they were just statues around the world and they had been basically _dead_ for the last twenty years. None of their costumes fit them anymore. They hadn't had the strength which was there anymore. And lastly, they couldn't do anything with El's situation anymore.

Finding out he has a daughter was hard. He couldn't believe it at first. Jim was married happily to Joyce. Their children were basically Will and Jonathan, even though they weren't his biological sons. And then, boom! A grown-ass adult woman shows up with the same facial expressions as his. Hell, it was too late to try to raise her. It was too late to be a father to her. She had her own life. She had Michael, she had her friends. Hopper wasn't important to her.

It hurt, even if he didn't admit it. If he knew, if he only knew - he could have searched for her, he could have brought her home, he could have been the father she needed. When Jane Ives first appeared in the Headquarters, Hopper searched for everything about her. She was the dreaded Jean, who called herself the protector of Hawkins City. And she could be as dreaded as she was, he knew the truth. Her mother died when she was fourteen. She should end up in a house for children with _special abilities_ , but she ran away and disappeared.

Hopper exposed her to an extreme pressure. He knew it was wrong, _so wrong_ , to want her to go against Brenner. Now she's like this. Possibly dead in a few minutes.

He took a deep breath, wrapping his arms around Joyce's petite body. "What have I done?"

Joyce couldn't say anything. She still had mixed feelings about Jean, Jane, whatever people called her. She had the need to protect her, to take her under her wings as a mother would do. She watched as Mike tried to save her life.

Jane's body started shaking. She had goosebumps, possibly because of Mike's powers. Her right hand jerked, causing the window behind Joyce and Hopper blast into pieces. Jim quickly turned into titanium, protecting Joyce from the sharps. Some of them dug into Paladin's pale skin. Fresh drops of almost black blood were dripping down his arms. He ignored it anyway, being too focused on other things.

Her chest lurched up like she was defibrillated. It affected Mike, too. There was blood coming out of his nose. It had never happened to him. They all knew El's powers made her bleed from the nose because of the strength she deals with.

There was a deathly pause then. Power in the room was up again. Paladin opened his eyes, exhausted from the amount of electricity he electroshocked Jane with. His face turned into a mess of confusion, guilt, and fear he didn't save her. All three stared at Jean.

"Come on, kid," Hopper whispered for himself. He ran to the bed, pushing Mike harshly away. He tried the heart massage again, in the usual human way, trying to save her again. Memories of the dead kids that died under his hands flooded his mind and he was powerless towards the feeling of the disappointment. The screens still showed no heartbeat. "You're too strong to die like this! Come on, kid! Fight!" he growled through his tears, speeding up the pace. However, her body didn't react anymore.

Something in Mike's head started screaming. Loudly, painfully. It was a wail of despair. It made him shiver in coldness. And then, there was the voice again. _You didn't save her._ His vision blurred because of the tears. Despite how tired he was, he held himself steady before. Now, all he wanted to do was _die_ with her. His sobs got louder as he hugged her fragile body, burying his head in Jean's chest, begging her to come back to him.

It tore everyone's hearts. Their family outside the room realized it soon. First, it was the speedster. Max fell on the ground in tears, painful shriek escaping her mouth as Lucas tried to soothe her. It didn't help. He himself was heartbroken and betrayed by Jane. She's left alone in the world. Will and Dustin looked at each other, both of them had nothing to say. They embraced each other in a tight hug, the shorter man burying his head in Bard's shoulder, unable to stop crying.

And there was nothing to do with her death.

Jane Ives died two months ago.

Jane Hopper has never been born.

And Jean? Her soul has seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Without a goodbye, she turned her back on her family, smiled weakly and walked away from the world. She knew it wasn't her place to stay anymore.

Maybe in another life, they'll meet again.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm honestly thinking I'd make a story of this, but except maybe with a little bit better (happy) ending. Don't know though, but I really like this idea.


End file.
